WEEK IN WOMEN: Woman-directed films win big at Sundance 2021 – Brandy McDonnell reports
As previously reported, Sundance achieved gender parity this year: Across 139 films and projects, 50%, or 69, were directed by one or more women; 4%, or six, were directed by one or more non-binary individuals; 50%, or 70, were directed by one or more artists of color; and 15%, or 21, by one or more people who identify as LGBTQ+.
Director and screenwriter Siân Heder’s family drama Coda won four awards in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category: the grand jury prize, the directing prize, the audience award and a special jury prize for best ensemble.
The film centers on Ruby (Emilia Jones), a teenager who is a Child of Deaf Adults, or CODA, and the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
Coda is the first film in the history of the Sundance Film Festival to earn all three U.S. Dramatic top prizes. Continue reading on THE WEEK IN WOMEN.
